Expendable

Under the scorching sun (Fantasy western)

@Expendable Did Jake just call Vilhelm 'miss'? 🤣

@Lord Wyron

He called Katelyn 'miss'.

Under the scorching sun (Fantasy western)

A slight frown creased his mouth, but the half-elf merely nods, setting down his beer and reaching out for it.

"I would, yeah," he said, then glanced over at Katelyn. "Iffen you don't mind, miss?"

The moment the book touched his hand, Jake knew. It hadn't just captured his words - somehow, it caught a bit of the emperor's soul. He was older than his paintings, but it was still the same man, same smile as he wrote and sketched, the horror of seeing a deadly scorpion and reacting immediately by using the closest thing at hand - and then realizing he'd used his notebook. He had a vague sense of others, the ripping of pages... but that was it.

The others were watching. How long had he been lost in the recollections?

Jake brought the notebook up to his nose and sniffed deeply, picking up the sweet, pungent, musty smell. "Old paper," he smiled, just slightly. "Forgers usually darken the paper with tea, different smell. He then examines the binding. "This was made in Iridia city by the Carnegie Papermill, about 1830s. They always inserted this purple thread on either side for the Emperor's stock."

Opening the book, he started flipping through the pages.

"Handwriting and prose can be copied," Jake said, "but this, this is genuine up until this final entry."

"So," he asked, handing it back to Katelyn, "Who took this afterward? You great-grandmother?"

Star Trek: Cadets - A Starfleet Extended Training Cruise RP

Miles McClelland, Engineer

Physical Information:
Name: Miles David McClelland

Age: 28

Species: Human

Gender: Male

Height: 185.4 cm (6' 1")

Weight: 63.5 kg (140 lbs)

Appearance Description: This clever guy has narrow blue eyes that are like two chunks of lapis lazuli. His fine, curly, brown hair is worn in an Ivy League style cut, swept up in the front. He is very tall and has a wiry build. His skin is fair. He has prominent ears.

Starfleet Record:
Division: Operations

Role: Engineer

Academy Major: Space Science: Astronautics

Academy Minor(s): Warp Drive Technology

Personal Information:

Biography

Biography:Born to Captain Grant and Doctor Sarah McClelland in the sickbay of the Charles McClelland, a Darien Colony merchant ship. Miles' mother died in child birth. Miles spent most of his early years in the ship's nursery until his father remarried.

The nursery, of course, makes several arrangements for the children in their care to have field trips. But on a trip to the zoo, when they realized that Miles (4) had vanished from his stroller, they were shocked to see him curled up beside a female Orithian Saber Cat, who protected him from the other saber cats.

After that rescue, young Miles was forbidden from leaving the ship.

When Galadenella was discovered, an artificial planet-ship that was basically worlds stacked like layers in a cake, the Charles McClelland was contracted by the Federation to bring trade goods from Darien Colony. Miles (10) pleaded with his father, who relented and allowed the boy to come down to the first inhabitable layer to meet the Galadenellans.

However, a protest by some of the locals became a riot, and Miles was one of several hostages taken that day by a revolutionary group, the Eäplèspth Front. When an attempt was made to rescue the hostages, the Eäplèspthans went underground - or more correctly down a few layers to another of their stacked worlds.

Eventually, Miles and the other hostages came to the notice of one of the ship's nobles, TekLord Chzo, who decided to take the boy in while negotiatons with the Federation was ongoing. The TekLord was trying to work out the lost technology of Galadenellans, and found the boy's inquisiveness and mechanical aptitude most rewarding.

When an ancient lab was discovered in a mezzanine layer between two world layers, TekLord Chzo took young Miles (15) with him to explore it. They found a console and an oversized chair, with long cabinets following it with workstations of some sort. Miles was sitting in the chair when a power spike hit the mezzanine grid, activating the equipment.

He had a vague realization that someone was screaming before he blacked out.

He awoke to an argument between Chzo and Adrley, a Galadenella translator who was part of the native negotiators. The two of them didn't get along well, Adrley was angry at Miles for how close he was to Chzo. The TekLord wanted Adrley to sneak Miles up to the negotiating table and turn the unconscious boy to the Federation so his own doctors could treat him, but the translator was concerned what would happen if they delivered a comatose boy to them.

Both were relieved that Miles was awake again, but he had no memories of what had happened, which concerned the both of them greatly. But before Chzo could act, a Eäplèspth Front assassin shot the teklord. Adrley shot the assassin, then dragged the boy out. She got him up to the "topside" layer and into the hands of an independent civilian trader, Charles Murphy, ordering him to get Miles back to his people before the Eäplèspth Front could send anyone else. She then kissed him, then disappeared into one of the many surface shafts.

Murphy was alone on his ship aside from his robots, and actually desperate for conversation. To help pass the time, he taught the boy how to shoot a phaser, and to a lesser attempt, how to use a fencing foil.

Arriving on Darien, he had to wait a few weeks for his father's ship to arrive - and discovered he was half brother to four brothers and sisters. Something about the whole thing disturbed him, and some months later, when he turned 17, he joined Star Fleet as an enlisted man. It was in boot camp they discovered his mind block. While they had some concerns, there didn't seem to be anything physically wrong with him, so it was decided to let him continue. He rose to Engineer 2nd Class, most of his other duties were maintaining the shuttlecrafts and repairing small equipment.

After his four year hitch, he returned to Darien Colony, grew restless, and decided to try for Star Fleet Academy a year later.

Other Details: Telepathically unreadable. For telepaths, it's like he's not there. Vulcan mind meld examination finds him... disturbing. It's like turning on a radio and hearing static - and it only gets louder the closer you get.

Blackguards!

@Expendable Think lunch might be coming to you.

@An Outsider

Oh! I love delivery! Wet armor, not so much.

Star Trek: Cadets - A Starfleet Extended Training Cruise RP

@Beesechurger

Londo Xad (WIP)

Physical Information:

Name: Londo Xad

Age: 329

Species: Trill

Gender:Male

Height: 5’6

Weigh: 168 Lb:

Appearance Description: He is 5'6 and weighs around 168 pounds with a skeletal but toned body type, He has dark brown hair that is quite curly and pretty long reaching passed his ears. Light blue eyes with a small-looking mole on the bottom left of his mouth. Large ears with a thin nose and heightened cheekbones, Another noticeable feature of him is a large scar across his right eye. As well as having the common trait of the Trill spots on his face and neck.

Starfleet Record:

Division: Medical

Role: Ensign

Academy Major: Medicine

Academy Minor(s):Biology, and botany

Personal Information:

Biography: Londo was born on his homeworld of Trill. Participating in the preparation and learning about what to expect being the host for a symbiote. He studied medicine and botany before he joined the Xad symbiote. After he joined the Xad symbiote he wanted to further his studies by joining the Federation. Taking part in the many tests the federation had for joining the Federations. Thanks to the many years of knowledge of his past hosts he was able to complete the test with flying colors.

Other Details: He is also a skilled musician and singer. Anything not covered in prior categories

I'm trying to come up with more backstory for Londo, perhaps you could give me some points on what else I could add to his history?

@Eviledd1984

Family is a good starter. Did they have a normal family? Mother, Father, brothers, sisters? Grandma and Grandpa?

Or was this a line family - First Husband, First Wife, Second Husband, Second wife, Third Husband, Third Wife, etc. A lot of brothers and sisters

Pets?
Friends?
Is one or more parents well known for something?
Did they grow up in the city? Did they move? Why did they move?
When did they meet their first symbiote? First Star Fleet person?

Notable Events of childhood?
Adolescence?
How was medical school? Friends? Lovers? Got locked in the Gross Anatomy lab? First surgery?

Blackguards!

Going to have to go looking for my iron casket and lunch.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Training Cruise RP

Don't expect me to don a red shirt.

[[CANCELLED!!]] Corsairs and Buccaneers - an Anime Pirate roleplay

@Expendable
The Prince has very high stats, like, really high. And some of the stats don't make much sense, considering his background and life-style. Considering he ca't figure out that his own cabin boy is a female, I'm surprised his Wits and his Perception aren't way lower. Also, he doesn't seem to have gone through any rigorous training or had a particularly hard life, so his Strength being as high as it is also doesn't make much sense.

However, if those are the stats you want, then that's fine. I'm just giving you my opinion on them as the GM.

As for your skills, I'd prefer it if you actually used real descriptions to detail how well he does what, rather than a numeric-system which I have no idea how to, or knowledge of, to properly measure.

The Cabin "Boy" has a lot of history and drama, but a lot of it is very vague and seems to assume the reader knows the name-dropped characters, places and titles of the things and people mentioned... Which is fine, but it feels a bit like starting to read a book at the very middle and having names and locations thrown at you, without any prior info about them.

Both characters are otherwise fully acceptable, but again, I'd like it if you edited the Skills-part of both of them first.

@Xaltwind

First paragraph establishes his extensive training, but I've no problem dumbing down Prince Dunderhead further. Are these stats and skill descriptions more to your liking? I'm using your pirate parameters scale to give a quick read of their skill levels - a B in navigation, for example.

And really it's not entirely his fault for not realizing Aywin's a girl. She was mal-nourished from prison, and food aboard navy ships isn't that much better, honestly. Lots of protein and some carbs, good for muscle mass but little else. And I do mean little. Despite her age and thanks to her elven blood, she looks like a skinny, underdeveloped teenager.

As far as titles go, a marquis is a high ranking noble, just below a duke. Aywin's uncle, the judge, is a government official who works under him, top third. Or at least did.

Sorry about the names. Aywin ought to know her family. Really they're hooks for future information.

As far as the rest go, sorry it's vague but I'm just putting in the basic important details, they're story hooks for later. Like if the captain goes digging through the cabin boy's sea bag and finds her medal. I know it's tied to the blockade of Mylmashys and the fireships, something the captain might have heard of.

[[CANCELLED!!]] Corsairs and Buccaneers - an Anime Pirate roleplay

Since we can have up to two characters and half-elves were okay in the Interest thread, here are my two offerings. I hope they're acceptable?

The Prince

Appearance

This laid-back guy has beady eyes the color of obsidian. His fine, wavy, yellow hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a pile of shredded paper. He's got a beard and moustache. He is tall and has an elegant build. His skin is deeply-tanned. He has small ears. His wardrobe is elaborate.

Height: 180.3 cm
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Blonde

Name: Jean-Louis "Prince" Renou

Age: 25

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Background: Wealthy merchant family

Occupation: Navigator aboard the Maïtè D'Aboville

Personality: Boisterous extrovert with a relaxed, devil-may-care attitude. Enjoys the finer things of life, which led to his current changing of employment. A dandy, to be sure, but good with a blade. Confident in his abilities and with women. Cautious around ladies of high rank, lest their fathers or jealous husbands be near; and with armed women who, in his experience, tend to strike below the belt.

History: Jean-Louis was born and raised in Beloure at the Renou family's estate. Much of his day was ruled by routine - morning exercises with Swordmaster Corwin, late-morning riding lessons with Stablemaster Hébras, after luncheon tutoring with Brother Mikhail, then late-afternoon lessons in the arts, music, dance, and deportment with Madame Noir. He was also expected to join the men when it was time to harvest or hunt, learning well the use of bow, spear, and his father's flintlock rifles.

In his youth, Jean-Louis had an interest in maps and the stars, learned the use of the compass, astrolabe, octant, and telescope. When his interests turned to girls, his mid-winter gift of a pocket telescope became very handy. However, when the stablemaster caught young master Renou in the hayloft with his daughters, his father purchased a commission for young man aboard his good friend Régis Duchamp's merchant fleet.

Jean-Louis' childhood fascination served him in good stead, allowing him to rise quickly to the post of navigator, which gave him a small private cabin and allowed him to hire a cabin boy to keep it tidy and tend to his needs. But life at sea aboard a merchant ship proved to be tedious. A small sword practice session with his cabin boy convinced him his skills were deteriorating, and he longed for some excitement.
And then one day they were attacked by pirates....

When he ran into them ashore, he decided it was time for a change.

Life Goal: To be commodore of his own fleet

Reason: Anything less would be boring.

Skills:

• Navigation - (B) Above average skill in using charts, stars, and dead reconning to plot a course to get the ship to where they want to go, +/- 5 miles. Usually capable of determing where they are if they go off-course.
• Swordsmanship - (C) Average swordsperson. Knows the most obvious places to strike, tends to be more reactive of a fighter.
• Flintlock pistols - (E) Below average aim, suitable for close quarters, can hit a bottle at ten paces half of the time. Maybe once out of ten at twenty paces.
• Gambling - (D) Below average player, tends to be more reactive. Still loses more than he wins. The only way he walks out of most gambling establishments with a small fortune is to stop before losing it all.
• Mandolin - (C) Average player, knows a selection of tunes by heart, not good at coming up with something spontaneously. Humming a few bars only works if he knows the piece.
• Swimming - (D) Below average swimmer, can swim for a few minutes, distances of under half a mile, good at floating.

Equipment:

• Longsword with the Renou family crest
• Dirk with the Renou famly crest
• Six flintlock pistols
• Breastplate
• Flask of brandy with Renou family crest
• Charts and navigation equipment
• Small gaming chest
• Travelling medicine chest
• Mandolin with oilcloth cover
• Grooming kit
• Copper bathtub
• A number of large, flat top trunks that hold his wardrobe/personal items, lashed together with a mattress on top.

Pirate Parameters

Strength: B
Vitality: C
Perception: E
Intellect: C
Wits: C
Agility: C
Charisma: B
Luck: C

Shiver me timbers

Aywin Genhana

Appearance

This young woman (for a half-elf) puts you in mind of a precise mechanism. She has round green eyes that are like two pieces of jade. Her fine, curly, neck-length hair is brown so deep it's like dark coffee. She is short and has an athletic build. Her skin is tanned, with various scars all over her body. She has thin eyebrows and small feet. Her ears have a rounded point.

She typically wears a peasant blouse, loose breeches and leather jerkin. She doesn't have a hat, covering her head with a red scarf, and typically goes about bare foot on deck like the other sailors.

She has a wool sweater and cap for cold weather, plus hose and some crude leather shoes with rope soles to grip the deck.

Height: 142 cm

Eye Color: green

Hair Color: dark brown, almost black.

Name: Aywin Genhana

Age: 47

Race: Half-elf

Gender: Female

Background: Commoner

Occupation: Cabin boy

Personality: Aywin is humble and hard working, almost unflappable in her demeanor. She keeps herself and her workplace clean and organized, and seems to know something is about to happen before anyone else. That her employer is unaware that she is a woman might rate the slightest of smiles.

History: The messenger who brought Polgara the message that her sister Aenwyn was dead also brought Aywin with them to put the newborn into their care. The rounded points of the baby's ears was a shock - her sister had given birth to a half-human child. Revenore society would not be kind to this girl. Her husband, Judge Glyberos, knowing the sort of things people would whisper, told Pol that they would treat their neice as a foundling, left on their doorstep and to be brought up by the servants.

Years later, the Marquis Muleho was visiting and asked after the half-human servant girl. The judge let slip Aywin was actually their neice, only to be met with shock and anger. Muleho reminded the judge of his responsibility to family before storming off. Ashamed, they moved Aywin to her own room, arranging tutors to educate the girl. But the story soon spread, much to the family's embarrassment.

Marquis Muleho reluctantly returned three years later with an ancient tome he wanted Pol to examine, and they made amends to each other for the fight. But when Muleho went to fetch the book, it was nowhere to be found. Keras and Sylna, the couple's son and daughter, said they'd seen Aywin taking it up to her room. The burned remains were found in her tiny fireplace. When Aywin denied knowing anything about the book, the judge lost it, and in his rage had the half-human girl beatened until she finally confessed, desperate to have the beating stopped. Keras and Sylna were pale and sick with horror at what their lie had done, but more was to come. The judge ordered Aywin to be taken to Oranaserine Prison, where she was to be locked up and branded for her crime against royalty.

It was in prison that she learned truly how to be a thief, it being necessary for her survival. However, whatever hopes she had when was released were dashed as she was snatched up by a press gang, on the search for more people to feed the Revenore Royal Navy in their fight against the Pretender. On board the Golden Falcon, she learned how to fight with a cutlass, as well as being rotated through the various duties aboard. When they finally reached a port, the crew was restricted to the ship and could not go ashore, so vendors came out to them to hawk their wares. She picked up a fiddle, and spent many an hour learning to play it. The tunes helped ease the lives of all aboard.

Fireships from the blockaded harbor at Mylmashys burned down the Golden Falcon, with Aywin one of the few survivors. When they recovered, they were briefly hailed as heroes, awarded medals, and transferred the next day to the West Wind, where as before on the Golden Falcon, she was met with much distrust. Without the fiddle, she spent her time learning the different languages the other crewmembers has picked up in their various travels.

When the years-long war against the Pretender was finally won, and it seemed like they would be returning to Revenore, the captain announced someone had stolen a bejeweled dagger from his cabin. It was found in Aywin's sea bag. Despite her protests of innocence, she was marooned on a small nameless island, forced to watch the West Wind disappear over the horizon. She should have been angry, she knew, but she'd suspected something like this would happen.

She managed to signal a passing ship and taken to Felan Taesi, but no ship was interested in taking aboard a branded thief. Finally, Jean-Louis Renou, the navigator off of a Belourian ship, Maïtè D'Aboville, mistaking her for a boy, offered to take her on as his cabin boy. She accepted.

----------

Life Goal: To earn enough to have a peaceful lift, back in the Greenholme islands, but well away from Revenore.

Reason: It's amazing how much society forgives the faults of the rich. They might even forget she's a half-human.

Skills:

• Brawling - (C) Well-practiced with hand-to-hand fighting and the use of whatever comes at hand for weapons. Her small size helps with ducking, but her average level of strength doesn't contribute much.
• Fiddle - (D) She knows how to play, but she's long out of practice.
• Languages - (D) She's familiar with a lot of languages, can generally make herself understood where she goes.
• Marlinespike Seamanship - (A) Expert in the use, maintenance, and repair of lines, rope, and cable. This includes tying knots, splicing, lashings, whippings (to keep the ends from fraying. Can jury-rig repairs to standing rigging (the lines that keep the masts in place) and running rigging (everything used to raise, lower, and adjust the sails or rudders. Expert in canvas work, can perform repairs to sails, make various bags and covers, hammocks, or shrouds.
• Ship Handling (B) Experienced in maneuvering a ship by the use of sails and rudders, especially in close quarters situations such as a harbor, dock, or pier. Can steer and maintain a course, knows the points of the compass.
• Swimming - (C) Average swimming ability. Can swim for significant distance and keep herself afloat in the water.
• Swordsmanship - (A) Expert (not supernatural) swordsperson. Knows the places to strike for maximum damage, weak spots in armor, how to wound, deflect, and disarm. At penalty for taller opponents (most of the crew).

Equipment:

• Bosun's Call (A shrill whistle used for signaling aloft for sail changes even in bad weather, summoning the crew. The mark of a sailor.)
• Belaying Pin (Used to secure lines in a pin rack and release them quickly, makes for a handy club.)
• Cutlass
• Rigging knife (This is a normal working knife whose sharp tip was broken off in the carpenter's vice to prevent sailors from accidently damaging the sails (or deliberately stabbing the officers.))
• Whetstone
• Sea bag (clothes and personal items)

Pirate Parameters
Strength: C
Vitality: C
Perception: S
Intellect: A
Wits: A
Agility: B
Charisma: B
Luck: C
Bless my soul

The Prince is just a bored dandy out to have a little fun, while the cabin boy has a ton of story hooks ready to exploit. There's also the situation comedy of him being unware that his cabin boy isn't a boy, and despite appearances, she is actually older and more experienced than him. Shades Haruhi of Ouran High School Host Club and Sebastian of Black Butler. Or would she be more like Radar from MASH?

Dwarves!

Okay, next time.